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Additional Sessions Judge has jurisdiction to award compensation under POCSO, holds Chhattisgarh High Court
The Chhattisgarh High Court has noted that an Additional Sessions Judge trying cases under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 would have the same power as a Special Judge to award compensation to a child victim of sexual offences. The Court placed reliance on Section 33(8) of the POCSO which confers […]
Benefits under the Maternity Benefits Act must be extended to contractual workers, holds MP HC
The Madhya Pradesh High court has ruled that maternity leave should be granted to contractual employees at par with regular employees. In this case, the state was denying maternity leave relying on the contract of appointment which stated that maternity leave can be granted to contractual workers only upon the completion on one year of […]
Kerala HC separates inter-religious married couple, rejects choice of woman to marry
The High Court of Kerala handed over the ‘custody’ of an adult woman of sound mind to her father, and nullified her marriage to a Muslim man. The father of the 24 year old woman had filed a writ petition to seek her custody, after she left her parent’s home and converted to Islam. The […]
Hindu law does not confer any property rights upon “illegitimate” children, holds Bombay High Court
The Bombay high court has ruled that an “illegitimate” child must provide evidence of marriage between her biological parents to claim protection conferred by Sec. 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act. In this case, the petitioners, children from the second ‘marriage’ of the deceased, sought a share in his property. However, the first wife of […]
Inconsistencies in award of death penalty re-opens debate on capital sentence: convictions in Jyoti Singh and Bilkees Bano cases
In an appeal against the death penalty by the four convicts in Jyoti Singh’s gang rape, the Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty. The homicidal gang rape of a 23-year old girl in Delhi led to momentus public outrage, propelling the enactment of longstanding reforms in criminal laws relating to sexual assault in March […]
Set up care centre for children who face sexual abuse: SC
A Supreme Court bench has said that the definition of the expression “child in need of care and protection” under Section 2(14) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 is not exhaustive. Although a child victim of sexual abuse under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012is a child in […]
Legal obstacles to slaughter of cattle assume new forms in the wake of cow protection discourse
In March 2017, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government had issued orders for the closure of illegal slaughterhouses in the state, following the electoral victory of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. Given that trade in cattle meat in UP is largely carried out by unregulated small establishments, implementation of this order effected a near […]
India ratifies key ILO conventions to end child labour
India has ratified two key conventions on child labour at the International Labour Conference in Geneva, a step towards complete prohibition of child labour. This has been done months after amendment to the Child Labour Act and includes Convention 138, which sets minimum age for admission to employment and Convention 182, which penalises and prohibits the […]
Ill-conceived affirmative action forces transgender persons to give up employment with Kochi metro
In a widely advertised move, Kochi Metro’s employment of 23 transgender persons for various jobs including housekeeping, ticket vending, customer relations, etc, exposed identities of many who were not ready to ‘out’ themselves. In the absence of providing housing facilities, the opportunity backfired as most of the transgender employees were unable to find rented accommodation […]
MWCD’s reader on safe childhood asks parents to monitor children’s texting
The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has developed advisory guidelines for parents, teachers and the community , on “Raising Happy Children and Providing Safe Childhoods”,. It recommends parental monitoring of children’s conversations on phone as a means of tackling sexual abuse and inappropriate behaviour, advising greater privacy once children reach 16-17 years of […]